An environmental group that has opposed development projects on the Poudre River says it will sue to block Larimer County from allowing the river to feed into the long-planned City of Thornton pipeline.
Save The Poudre says that the Larimer County Commissioners, who approved the pipeline proposal in May, should have required that Thornton send the water down the Poudre River in Fort Collins instead of putting it in a pipeline. By not doing so, the commissioners have violated multiple sections of the county’s land use code, according to a Save The Poudre news release.
“It’s insane to divert the water out of the Poudre and put that water in a pipeline that crosses the river 12 miles downstream,” said Gary Wockner, who directs Save The Poudre, in the news release. “Using the river as the conveyance would increase the health of the river in Fort Collins, the riparian corridor along the river, and the recreational opportunity at the new Whitewater Park in downtown.”
City of Thornton spokesman Todd Barnes declined to comment on the suit, which will be filed in Larimer County District Court. “We don’t comment on potential litigation,” Barnes said.
The final 10-mile section of the pipeline that will spur Thornton’s growth for the next several years gained unanimous approval from the Larimer Commissioners in May. The granting of the 1041 permit for the pipeline project came after two lengthy public hearings along with meetings with Larimer residents to ease fears about the impacts of the pipeline, say city officials.
Most of the 70-mile pipeline will run through Weld and Adams counties before ending south of Thornton.
Larimer County residents and environmentalists have long worried the pipeline would damage and drain the Poudre River. Thornton bought the water rights to the river in 1986 and city officials say the water they are conveying is already being diverted at a point at the Larimer County canal.
No additional diversions will be made once the pipeline is built, officials say.
Thornton officials say they have consistently reached out to critics of the pipeline to allay their fears about the project.
“Our approach has always been to not just meet but exceed regulatory and community outreach requirements, ensuring that our plans align with the broader goals of Larimer County and serve as a beacon for how communities can unite over significant projects, including water projects,” Thornton Interim City Manager Brett Henry said in a prepared statement in May.
New route approved
After talks with Larimer residents and county officials, Thornton produced a new route that is significantly different than what was proposed in 2018 when Larimer County denied the plan, according to a city of Thornton webpage.
The new alignment is 16.6 miles shorter than the previous one and includes a pump station located on private property owned by the Water Supply and Storage Company. The location is just two miles north of the site proposed in 2018, according to the city.
This new location is located further away from residential development and recognizes the sentiment expressed by Larimer County residents for the pump station to be located on private, non-residential property, the city said.
The county’s approval of the 1041 permit application comes with 83 conditions. They include requiring Thornton to retain a soil scientist, agronomist or agricultural engineer to help property owners impacted by the construction to protect or reestablish soil health.
Thorton can also review the alignment of the pipeline by 100 feet on either side if it doesn’t cross a property line, is approved by the property owner, and meets the overall criteria, officials say.
State law cited
Save The Poudre points out in its legal comment letter that the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) changed state law to specifically allow using the Fort Collins Poudre River corridor as the conveyance for about 13,500 acre-feet of its water.
But the Larimer County Commissioners failed to require Thornton to do the same thing for almost the same amount of Thornton’s water (14,000 acre-feet), according to the Save The Poudre news release.
“If NISP can do it voluntarily, Thornton must do it too,” said Wockner. “The legal and policy precedent set by NISP must be applied to Thornton, and we will seek court intervention to enforce it.”
During the 10-year battle over the Thornton pipeline, and throughout the recent hearings in Larimer County, nearly every single public comment from people of Larimer County — over a thousand in the 10-year process, and at least a hundred in the recent hearings — supported using the river as the conveyance for water, Wockner said in the news release.
“This decision not only violates the land use code, it violates the will of the people,” said Wockner. “Save The Poudre will stand up for the people of Larimer County and seek a better outcome for the Poudre River and the community.”
Save The Poudre is also involved in two lawsuits against the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) — in the state court of appeals and in federal district court, both in Denver. In part, Save the Poudre is arguing that NISP should use the river as the conveyance for all 40,000-acre feet of its water, the news release states.
“The NISP battle has been playing out for 20 years and may continue for several more. NISP also needs a 1041 permit to run a pipeline across City of Fort Collins Natural Areas, a permit process that hasn’t begun yet,” it reads.